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Sep 4, 2018, 09:00am

What You Should Know About The Hiring Process To Secure Your Next Position

Grace Totoro is a virtual career transitions coach and the creator of Winner’s Pitch®

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You know the drill. You see a position you know you are qualified for. You submit your application, resume and cover letter, and one of these outcomes occurs:

1. You never hear back.

2. You receive a rejection letter.

3. You receive a link to a computerized screening video interview with you and the camera.

4. You pass the screening link, meet in person and are promised a second interview -- and then you never hear back, regardless of how many follow-up emails and voicemails you leave.

Sound familiar?

If you are forced into this process because you were fired or restructured out, or your company closed its operations, the impact on your psyche can be devastating.

The Story Of Clients A And B

Client A is a 62-year-old male who was a high-performing sales professional within the health care industry. He was downsized and decided to start his own sales training consulting business. He quickly realized that generating the income he needed to sustain his life would take time, so he decided to scale back his business-building efforts and look for a full-time, hourly position. He would gain the flexibility of leveraging his excellent communication, technology, customer support and account management expertise while working on his business on the side.

Regardless of how he varied his resume to “match” the job descriptive ad, he was rejected. When he reached out and spoke to several hiring managers asking why, he received the same response: “Human resources does the screening and sends me the final candidates.”

Client B is a 42-year-old female who was a technology guru and suffered several losses within months of each other. She lost her job due to a company closing, lost a child due to a drug overdose, went through a divorce and faced the threat of bankruptcy. Having to handle three significant losses along with money issues, her LinkedIn profile and resume represented her internal chaos. It was difficult to follow, and her niche and value were lost along the way. After sending out hundreds of resumes in response to online job ads without success, she decided she needed help.

The Job-Search Makeover

Before you think about starting over again, I recommend that you:

• Take time to process your grief. Job loss is a loss that surfaces the cycle of grief and may require conversations with a grief counselor.

• Speak to a debt or financial adviser to learn how to stretch your money during this time.

• Realize that the value you brought to your previous company follows you to the next company. You may have lost your “current customer,” but your expertise is still with you.

• Consider working with someone who will guide you, not take over the process of remodeling your approach to job searching.

Making Yourself Visible In The Invisible Hiring Process

Successful sales professionals know the best time to sell to a customer is before they announce their need. Since competition is everywhere, including the job search, the key to making the "sale" is having a product or service that stands out, speaks to your target’s pain points and obstacles, and describes the solution by demonstrating the “how” in your story.

Job searching today is no longer transactional. The days of simply filling out an application, submitting a resume, generating an interview and getting hired are over. The successful job seeker must also target an audience, understand the overall pain points that audience is facing and demonstrate with words on paper and in conversation how they will stop the pain using their discipline. Like an entrepreneur, this requires knowing your niche and your customers.

Remember, regardless of who your targets are, they must see the value in hiring you before they have the opening and the job description is written. All parties must see the benefits of working with you.

For example, take the following potential targets:

• Agency recruiters: They want to make money on your placement.

• A consulting company: They want to capitalize on your worth by helping you find projects.

• A hiring manager: They want their greatest obstacle eliminated.

Unfortunately, today, your experience and accomplishments may not be enough, especially if they are just listed on your profile and resume using stock phrasing that isn’t in your voice of now. For many job seekers, the way you are positioning yourself is keeping you invisible, as you are blending in with the herd of others who use the same verbiage and representation.

The New You

You must rebrand yourself, and it begins with your LinkedIn profile. You may have decades of expertise, but all positions have changed, and you must incorporate the changes in your credentialing.

All your collateral should engage the reader and encourage them to keep reading, not be the solution to their insomnia. Your goal is to generate “business to business” conversations that will lead to interviews.

Let’s face it: The reason scanners are prevalent is because when the opening is posted, too many people apply. The “human scanner” (aka the human resources professional) cannot handle the volume. Therefore the hiring process becomes a double-edged sword. Building and leveraging relationships are key to job search success.